Love Hina:  Evicted!
by The Universal Storyteller
Summary: Keitaro's finally had more than enough abuse from several of his current tenants.  Therefore, he actually decides to do something about it all, for once!  Who will go, who will stay, and who will move in?  Chapter One Revised Yet Again!
1. Chapter 001:  The Confrontations

This story may periodically tie in with any other stories I may now have on this site under any of my pen names, or it may not. Or any still-future stories that I might eventually post on this site, at least in part, if not entirely. I have not yet decided that well enough, though. Unless and/or until I actually say otherwise, then, at any time or times whatsoever, this particular story is in a sufficiently different timeline than any of the now-known or still-potential timelines for any or all of those various other stories, people, just so you all know this quite well enough. Please try to keep that fact in mind, if and whenever you might actually read this story in the future, for sure.

This will be a story chock-full of many characters, and many quite substantial changes, in fact. Not to mention the fact that many parts of it may indeed be at least somewhat AU in their respective natures, if not greatly AU in them. This will definitely not be a story for fans of Naru, Motoko, and Mitsune, at least, if not anyone else as well, for reasons that will become quite evident in time. At least not at first, anyway. I really do hope that you'll stick with me and this story, just the same, though. Even if you are fans of the above three characters. You might just be surprised with just how this story turns out by the end of it, everyone.

All characters, settings, et cetera, in this particular story of mine here actually now do belong to their own respective owners/creators as they possibly can now and as appropriate, of course, people. Whether from they're actually from _Love Hina_ or not, for example, you should all know quite well by now, I hope.

With no further ado, then, if we may, let's all get to the story here and now. I really do hope to see quite a lot of clean, courteous, and constructive reviews in the meantime, as you all read this story here, for sure, from any or all of you on this particular site! Until later, TUS out!

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><p>Chapter One: The Confrontations<p>

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><p>Shinobu Maehara was preparing supper on June 6, 1992, when sounds of much yelling reached her ears. Those sounds were coming from the Apartments' hot springs are. She eventually realized this at least a few seconds later, if not at least a minute later. But still not soon enough to ultimately prevent what soon happened, quite unfortunately for many, both on the Apartments' grounds and not.<p>

As a result of the yelling, she nearly dropped the potatoes she was just about to peel for supper on her feet. But she still somehow managed to keep them from doing so by laying them all on a nearby counter. When silence then reigned for too long after some more yelling and some crashing, she then hurried to the hot springs. She was still too late to somehow keep someone male from actually flying winglessly off into the distance, though. Three others there, with two of them being in towels, also watched him begin doing that. Much to Shinobu's own dismay in fact, even if she didn't yet realize it well enough.

After the three other women's chosen victim was quite far out of her sight, she secretly studied the three other women still with her now in the hot springs area. Not too much later, she found a work sign of some sort hidden under one of them as they then reclined on a lawn chair and drank sake. That soon caused Shinobu to steal both the sake and the sign from the lawn chair's occupant. Much to everyone's surprise, and most especially to her own, in fact. When she then quite unexpectedly did so, and quite quickly fled the hot springs area, a long chase of her soon began for the other three women who'd been there with her.

Shinobu quickly fled the hot springs area with three other young women beginning to very seriously chase her. She soon led them all through various streets still somewhat near the Hinata Apartments. This was the case, then, for at least 45 minutes, if not longer. No matter where those streets were, she still did so. And she did this at least until she was finally quite sure that she'd actually shaken them all well enough, somehow. Once she was, she quickly returned to the Hinata Apartments' grounds, for all the potentially obvious reasons, of course. When she did so, she soon learned her three pursuers hadn't yet returned there well enough, quite strangely enough.

After a short phone call to a certain nearby proprietress, she and that very same proprietress quickly began securing the Apartments' grounds at all known possible access points as best as they both then could. Even against all three of the young women who Shinobu had very quickly run away from some length of time earlier, in fact. It wasn't very easy for them to do so well enough just by themselves, of course. But they still somehow both managed to do just that in time, quite fortunately indeed. Both for themselves and for certain other people, by the way.

Once the grounds were then secured as best as they currently could be, the proprietress soon asked, "Shinobu-chan, just how far along were you, then, with tonight's supper preparations, if I might ask?" Shinobu sliced some carrots as the woman near her asked her that.

"About ten minutes or so, I believe, before Senpai was attacked. He was cleaning the hot springs, after telling me he was going to, in fact. Minutes later, possibly at Mitsune's instigation, Kaolla came in and asked me about supper. I suspect Mitsune sent her in then as a temporary diversion to keep me from interfering with her next planned pranking of Senpai. I found the work sign under Mitsune when she was reclining in a chair near the bath. The rest of what happened by now, you probably now know, of course, Haruka-san."

Haruka considered all that Shinobu herself had just told her, both on the phone and also in person. Soon afterward, she quietly asked, "Just how many places should I set for supper tonight, then?"

"Set seven places tonight. I'll make up some food and drink items for Senpai to have later, when he comes back." Shinobu dumped the carrots in the potatoes' pot.

"For who, if I might ask, then?"

"Seta-san, Sarah-chan, Nyamo-senpai, Mutsumi-senpai, Kaolla-senpai, you, and me. Unless Tsuruko-san and her husband, for instance, drop by suddenly. As they've periodically been known to do before around here, in fact. Akiko-chan was planning to come as well. But something suddenly came up for her, and she had to cancel somewhat unexpectedly."

"And what of Naru, Motoko, and Mitsune, then, Shinobu-chan?"

"I'm on strike now against them as much as I can now be, as of this exact moment. At least until I actually hear from and/or see Senpai well enough, somehow, anyway. I'll no longer somehow reward them for their abuse directed at Senpai, if I don't absolutely have to, for sure, Haruka-san."

"What do you think Keitaro will think of your strike, then, Shinobu-chan?" asked Haruka. She asked this even as she then handed some opened cans of corn to Shinobu for dumping into the necessary pot on the stove.

Shinobu quickly dumped the corn in the pot, before reaching for some other vegetables, and answering, "I'll deal with his thoughts about it when the need arises, if I must, of course. But until then, at least, I WILL do what I feel I must in order to best support him here and now, for sure, Haruka-san."

"I hope you know what you're doing here well enough, then, Shinobu-chan, obviously enough."

"So do I, Haruka-san. So do I."

"Are you scared, Shinobu-chan?"

"Of what?" Several prepared vegetable pieces then landed in the pot.

"Of them perhaps actually killing him, somehow, if at all possible?"

"Kaolla-chan often says he's unkillable."

"Maybe physically, at least, if not in any other ways as well. But you know they quite often get after him, and really hurt him greatly at times, don't you, Shinobu-chan? So are you scared?"

"Truthfully?" When Haruka nodded, Shinobu said, "Yes, honestly, of course I do, and I am, Haruka-san. Nobody, and especially not Senpai, truly deserves the you-know-what and where that he all too often gets from at least those three, if not others as well, for sure. Unless, of course, perhaps, they happen to be serial killers or mass murderers, for instance, quite obviously enough." She soon finished dropping various things into the pot, in very short order indeed.

Sometime later, Shinobu's three pursuers each finally got back to the Apartments' front steps, or nearly so, if not entirely. They soon found the nearby front gates quite locked indeed, at the very base of them. This they each did right upon their own respective returns to the grounds' immediate vicinity, quite unexpectedly indeed. When they tried calling either the Apartments or the Tea Shop to have them actually opened well enough, nobody at either such location answered their calls. For Haruka and Shinobu had both mutually decided to not answer their calls for at least a little while, if not permanently, for sure. So the front gates still remained quite closed and locked at the main steps' base, as well.

Shortly thereafter, the three decided to see if they could find at least one way, if not more than one, back onto the grounds well enough, of course. Starting with Motoko, and then with at least Naru, if not also Mitsune, in that order for sure. First Motoko quite unsuccessfully tried to get over several walls well enough several times. When she couldn't, she soon tried several non-ki-based attacks against various gates on and around the grounds. And especially against the front gates for them, in fact. When those attacks eventually proved sufficiently futile in her eyes, she soon made a very foolish decision indeed. That very foolish decision of hers was to start trying to get past the grounds' gates, especially the front ones, by using her ki-based attacks against them for a while. Unfortunately for her and her fellow miscreants, all the gates still held securely enough against all her attacks on them, somehow.

Motoko eventually stepped back, and Naru decided to try getting them all through the front gates for at least a little while, if not a long while. Naru then tried to find an intelligent way to get them all past the gates well enough without physical force, but was quite unsuccessful. Especially after she still couldn't get through to anyone now in the Hinata Apartments.

In great frustration quickly heading towards great anger, Naru then foolishly began trying to break through the gates and/or walls with her fists for at least a little while. This she did wherever and whenever she thought she could somehow do so well enough. However, just as they'd done against all of Motoko's attacks, they all held quite well indeed, in fact. Not only that, but Naru would very soon afterward learn that she'd possibly just broken at least a few, if not a lot of, bones in at least her hands, if not also anywhere else in her own body, for that matter, here and now. When the resulting pain from at least her hands, if not also anywhere else, finally hit her, she was quickly forced to back away from the front gates in rather great pain, of course.

Just before the now-sober Mitsune was just about to try getting them all back on the grounds well enough, several police cars began arriving in their general vicinity. For Shinobu had suddenly called the cops once Motoko had begun attacking the main gates with her various attacks. Mitsune soon said, "Oh, great! Girls, we'd better run now, or we might spend at least one night in jail or in juvenile detention, if not more! Now I don't know about you. But I really don't want to do that now if I don't have to, for the obvious reasons!"

Naru said, "Ditto!"

And, of course, Motoko didn't want to do so either, for sure. And she said as much as well, in very short order. The three of them then ran like the dickens, so to speak, away from the grounds. They all ran from that time on until they were all somehow able to finally slip underground perhaps a few miles away from the Apartments' grounds. By that time, however, all three of them had really dirty clothes on their respective persons, quite naturally enough.

All three of them ultimately found themselves spending the entire night, at least, underground, if not longer, much to their mutual great dismay. Not only that, but they all were even unable to find edible or drinkable enough things to eat or drink at the current time, at least.

Naru eventually said, as she tried to find a good place to sleep, "This really stinks!"

Motoko said, "I agree! We shouldn't be here at all, in the first place! We should be in the Dorm!"

"Keitaro shouldn't have been in the hot springs earlier, most likely," said Mitsune.

"Shinobu seemed to think he should have, Mitsune," said Naru, as she tried to improvise some sort of sleeping surface amidst piles of garbage, for instance.

Motoko noted, "Well, she has always been fond of Urashima, or nearly so, for quite some time, it seems. Of course she would take his side, if and whenever she possibly could."

"Why was she so unexpectedly angry this evening, however, besides that, then?" asked Naru.

"I think I played a prank that has now greatly backfired on us for at least a little while," Mitsune eventually forced herself to say now, quite reluctantly indeed, in truth.

"What?" exploded Motoko.

"Things seemed to be getting boring and dull of late around the Dorm. So I thought it might be a good idea to try to liven things up at least a little bit again. I therefore took his sign and set him up for you two to get after again for a while."

"So he WAS innocent, after all?" asked Naru.

"Yes, this time, at least, he was, Naru-chan."

"You foolish woman! You may have just destroyed things at the Apartments forever for us, at least, if not anywhere and/or anyone else as well!" shouted Naru. "And now I possibly have a few broken bones, at least, in at least my hands, if not elsewhere as well. All just because of it, at least a little bit, if not a lot, in fact!"

"Naru-chan, I'm REALLY sorry, for sure," said Mitsune.

"Just shut up right now, Mitsune, before I forget we're still best friends. I don't want to hear from you again for at least the rest of the night, in fact. For I'm really mad about what you just caused for us, for sure."

Mitsune looked at both Naru and Motoko for a little while before both of them suddenly turned their backs on her for the rest of the night. Motoko soon slept with her sword in her hand. Naru, for her part, then tried to sleep despite the pain she was now feeling in certain areas of her own body. As for Mitsune herself,l sleep quite completely eluded her, no matter how hard she tried to get at least some of it, somehow, during the night.

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><p>Meanwhile, as the three miscreants were either still Shinobu-hunting or trying to get back on the grounds well enough, Shinobu was finishing up supper with some help from Haruka when and where needed. Just before supper was ready, Kaolla at least briefly then joined both Shinobu and Haruka in Shinobu's very own kitchen, in fact.<p>

Just then, the three of them began hearing the miscreants' efforts to get back on the grounds well enough. Kaolla soon asked, "What's going on, Shinobu?"

Shinobu said, "Mitsune pranked Senpai again with some help from you, and set him up for Naru and Motoko to blast needlessly as they quite often do. Where he is now, I really don't know yet, for sure, Kaolla. Because of that particular prank from Mitsune, Haruka-san and I have now secured the entire grounds as best as we can against them all for at least tonight, if not even longer than that. You may not have known just what Mitsune was planning for a new prank, I admit. But the fact still remains that you still helped her execute that prank. Because you caused me to forget Senpai told me he was going to clean the hot springs, he was blasted somewhere quite needlessly. Therefore, your primary punishment for your part of the incident will be no banana-related goodies of any kind whatsoever from me at least until Senpai returns, if he ever does. Furthermore, as a secondary punishment, all bananas presently outside your room on the grounds have actually been found, confiscated, AND secured in various places that not even you yourself will somehow be able to get into well enough, for that matter."

Just then, all three of them actually heard Motoko still continuing her attempts to somehow get them all back on the grounds well enough. But this time, they now began hearing her launch ki-based attacks on the front gates, in fact. As soon as Shinobu then realized this well enough, she quickly moved to the nearest phone to call the cops. After a brief question from Haruka, she said, "Because they've all now apparently chosen to be barbarians now by quite needlessly attacking both Senpai and/or these grounds, they apparently now all want to spend the night, at least, away from them both. Because we can't currently afford to allow them to perhaps destroy this place's gates, at least, I'm actually going to prank them back, in return, by simply calling the cops. Of course, it really won't be a prank, you know. But I've had enough of them all grossly mistreating Senpai like they've all often done ever since he first got here. At least for now, anyway. If they want to act like criminals, then by all means, we should let the cops deal with them, if at all possible, it seems to me." Shinobu then briefly conversed with the cops while also telling them all that they currently needed to know, before hanging up and resuming her relocation of many supper-related items from her kitchen to the main dining room as needed. While she still did that, then, she also suddenly said, "Let's see if the miscreants' shoes are all too tight for them to actually dance in, so to speak, Haruka-san and Kaolla-chan."

"What do you mean, Shinobu-chan?" asked Kaolla, even as Mutsumi appeared after a post-study session nap in Naru's room.

"There's a saying that I've heard or read somewhere, I believe, that goes something like, 'My shoes are too tight, and I have forgotten how to dance,' if memory serves, Kaolla. I believe it means, in essence, or at least to me, anyway, that if a person is too wrapped up in themselves, as each of our miscreants perhaps seem to be, much too often, they'll somehow not actually give other people all the respect that they each might deserve, you see. I don't know just where I might have heard or seen the saying before, though. Yet, I strangely seem to think it quite appropriate sentiment now, mind you all, somehow."

"So you want to see if they can dance, so to speak, after they all most certainly wronged Keitaro yet again, I take it?" asked Mutsumi.

"Exactly, Mutsumi-senpai. If they want to play, so to speak, let's see if they can keep up with the music for our dancing game of sorts. At least for a little while, if not a long while, that is," said Shinobu, even as she finished moving certain things from her kitchen to the main dining room as needed.

Minutes later, the cops showed up near the grounds, hoping to perhaps catch one or more of the three miscreants somehow. But the miscreants all still managed to elude the cops at least for a while, just the same. When the cops couldn't currently catch the miscreants, they briefly called the Apartments to see how they should then perhaps proceed as least as of the present time. Haruka told them to keep eyes out for them, just in case they showed anytime in the near future before any of those now at the Apartments somehow found and caught them well enough. The cops soon finished their little chat with Haruka, quite naturally enough, of course.

Supper was somewhat lively, even without the three miscreants' actual presences at it. Not long after that, Haruka and Shinobu were alone again in Shinobu's kitchen, while everyone else went elsewhere as then needed and/or then desired. Even Nyamo, in fact, for sure.

Once they were both quite sure they'd not be disturbed or be eavesdropped on again for a while needlessly, Shinobu soon asked, "What's the current status of the miscreants with the cops?"

"Unaccounted for at present with them, it seems. But they'll still keep eyes out for them, just in case they might actually encounter or see them before we somehow do well enough."

Shinobu considered that information as she washed several things and Haruka dried them as needed. She eventually said, "So they've gone to ground, so to speak, it seems. Perhaps we'd all best plan some little surprises for them all when next we see them all, then, Haruka-san."

"What kinds of surprises do you possibly mean, Shinobu-chan?"

"I'm not sure just yet. But those fools all will soon learn NEVER to mess with a Maehara, if at all possible, I believe, Haruka-san."

"Care to elaborate, at least at this juncture, Shinobu-chan?"

"No, most definitely not! But if they think I'm just going to let them continue to grossly mistreat him any longer, if I don't have to, they'll all soon find out they're quite sorely mistaken! Senpai might allow it, but I no longer will, if I don't have to let those perverts continue doing so against him."

"They often call him a pervert, you know, Shinobu-chan."

"Well, the way I see it, even though he's obviously not totally blameless himself, they're quite often much more perverted in such situations than he is, Haruka-san. I know he has certain mature interests and collections of such things. But those things still aren't actually good enough reasons for them all to grossly mistreat him just like they all quite often do, for sure. No matter whenever or wherever any or all of us might be around him at any time, you see, for that matter."

Haruka nodded, then said, "I take it you want to be at least his girlfriend, if not his wife, someday. That's if it's at all possible, of course, Shinobu-chan.

Shinobu unhesitatingly said, "Most certainly I do. Listen, I know that I'm possibly still only a teenager, at least chronologically, and that he's now 21 himself. But I still really do care quite a whole lot for him. Even though he apparently doesn't realize just how much he actually means to me. Unfortunately, he's still gone on Naru-san, it seems. Even though she beats him up constantly whenever she can't make up her mind about him well enough. She certainly doesn't deserve him. And I probably don't, either, for letting most of the others, or even you, mistreat him so often since his first arrival here."

"The fan bit, for example, whenever he calls me 'Aunt Haruka,' Shinobu-chan?"

"Yes, I DO mean that, for example. It's NOT right for you to hit him when he does that. If you don't like him calling you that, FIND a better and more appropriate way to express your displeasure with him calling you that. Do NOT hit him again needlessly with anything physical, at least, or you WILL certainly come to greatly regret it, I promise you that!"

"I see, Shinobu-chan. I'll try to remember that, then, of course, for the obvious reasons. But you must also realize that I am a Urashima, just as he is. And you aren't technically one just yet, if you ever will be, you know."

"That just makes what you do to him needlessly at least a little bit, if not a lot, worse here in my eyes, at least. If not anyone else's as well, for sure. Family members should never needlessly hit each other, I feel. Or otherwise mistreat each other, for that matter, in any possible way whatsoever. I may indeed not yet be a Urashima, somehow, if I ever will be. But I'm not just going to let you mistreat him again needlessly, if I don't have to do just that, just as sure as I am now Shinobu Maehara, Haruka-san. Do NOT make me get after you for doing so again with him needlessly. Or you WILL begin to experience the often-fierce wrath of the Maeharas, at least to some degree, if not to a great degree!"

Soon after Shinobu said all those things, the two ladies finished doing the dishes, at least, and parted from each other for the rest of the current night, most likely. Haruka soon slept in Keitaro's room, and Shinobu soon did the same for herself in her own room, quite naturally enough.

Several hours later, Shinobu woke up and began making breakfast for almost everyone, if not everyone, then on the grounds. While she was then doing so, the phone in the living room unexpectedly rang. Seta answered it, and briefly conversed with the callers, before eventually giving Shinobu and Haruka the phone conversation indirectly through Mutsumi. While Haruka and Shinobu then talked to the callers, Seta stayed in the living room and Mutsumi monitored things in the kitchen, as needed.

The callers, who'd actually been both Keitaro and Grandma Hina, eventually told both Shinobu and Haruka that they'd both be returning to the Apartments very soon indeed, if at all possible. And that they'd both also most certainly not be alone at all when they eventually did so, for that matter. Not only that, but they were also both told to find and catch the missing tenants before eventually bringing them all back to face the potential consequences of their actions. Both Shinobu and Haruka then agreed to fully carry out Grandma Hina and Keitaro's order to the letter, if at all possible and appropriate, of course, in very short order indeed, before eventually hanging up their end of the conversation to a dial tone of some sort.

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><p>Hours later, the missing tenants were eventually found and caught well enough by several people, with at least some, if not a lot of, help from several Kaolla-created devices of some sort. With not the least of them actually being Shinobu, quite surprisingly indeed. Three battles eventually began, with two tenants apiece facing off against each other in them, for that matter. When the tenants faced off against each other in them, Mutsumi chose to battle against Motoko and Kaolla did the same with Mitsune. Which then ultimately left Shinobu to battle against Naru here, quite obviously enough.<p>

The three battles between various tenants eventually began in full earnest after the cops ultimately dropped back following some attempts to subdue the miscreants and some requests and/or orders from certain other people. Even though some didn't really want to, for sure, they still did so, just the same.

After the cops then dropped back enough, Motoko secretly thought she could still defeat Mutsumi in the applicable upcoming fight, for various reasons. At least at first, anyway, she did. Mutsumi mainly fought defensively in the fight, hoping to wear the still-strong Motoko out at least a little bit, if not a lot, before she began to fight back much more in that fight. Eventually, after Motoko had been battling Mutsumi for at least fifteen minutes, if not even longer, Mutsumi gradually began to turn the tide, so to speak, in her current fight with Motoko. And no more than ten or so minutes after that, Motoko quite unexpectedly indeed found several spikes quite suddenly pointed at several different places all over her own body by Mutsumi. Mutsumi soon promised even more serious vengeance on Motoko in the future, if Motoko didn't actually change her ways well enough by any possible time at all in it. And most especially as they each might then somehow relate to Keitaro well enough, for that matter. After Mutsumi eventually finished speaking well enough to Motoko here and now, Motoko soon found herself subdued and secured as needed, where needed, by the necessary people.

Mitsune and Kaolla's fight was very heated indeed. And it featured quite a lot of punches, kicks, grabs, and throws, for instance, during it from both of them. Eventually, Kaolla somehow managed to outlast Mitsune in it and wrap her up in a net of some sort. Then Kaolla told Mitsune various things in very short order. Many of them, if not all of them, were quite similar to the various things Mutsumi had earlier told Motoko, in fact. Once that battle's resolution arrived well enough, Mitsune quickly found herself actually subdued and secured much like, if not entirely like, Motoko had already been by various people.

Of all three fights for the tenants, though, which all began at roughly the same time, the longest by far was the one between Shinobu and Naru. And it was still being fought somewhat fiercely by the time Mitsune and Kaolla's battle eventually ended.

Naru held the advantage over Shinobu for most of the third applicable fight somehow. Even though she was then fighting with potentially cracked and/or broken bones in her own hands, at least, if not anywhere else as well for herself, she still did so, just the same. But Shinobu still somehow managed to stay in the fight, much to many people's great surprise, of course. Almost as if she was fighting for at least her own life in at least one way, if not in more than just one way, in fact. And whether or not she was also fighting Naru for others' lives as well, for that matter.

Eventually, Shinobu managed to begin turning the battle's tide in her favor, somehow. Although it wasn't without some great effort, just the same, for sure. That didn't happen, however, until at least an hour had actually passed during it, if not more time than that. And it only happened right after Shinobu quite suddenly threw Naru into a pile of garbage between two large warehouses some considerable distance away from the Hinata Apartments, in fact. Not only that, but Shinobu also briefly threw sand in Naru's eyes right after sending her into the aforementioned garbage pile.

"Shinobu, stop this! You don't need to fight me now!" shouted Naru, as she simultaneously tried both to defend herself and to calm down Shinobu, somehow, if it was at all possible for herself to do just that here and now.

"No, you're wrong, Narusegawa! I DO need to fight you, before you potentially DO kill the man I love! And if I have to break you down, piece by piece, in order to protect him from your monstrous ways, the so be it! No matter how many bones of yours I might have to break in order for me to somehow make quite sure your days of bullying him are forever over, if at all possible!"

As the fight still continued turning Shinobu's way, Naru soon shouted, "You'd let that pervert mistreat you, or anyone else, by molesting a young girl such as yourself, for example, who doesn't really know what true love is?"

"He WOULDN'T actually be molesting me, Narusegawa! And he is NOT quite as perverted as I know you and several others HAVE actually considered and perhaps called Senpai numerous times before! Not only that, but I also DO know that true love is NOT where someone normally beats up their potential mate or mates, at least! He really still loves you, as far as I now know! And, yet, how do you actually repay his very deep and very great love for you? You CONSTANTLY beat on him, and far too often without just cause! You definitely do NOT deserve his love, due to your great cruelty to him in the past, for sure! For all you've done to him, you truly ARE deserving of at least lifetime imprisonment, if not death, in my view, with no chance of parole! I USED to really look up to you, as a matter of fact! But no longer will I EVER do so again, for sure! That's UNLESS and UNTIL you somehow actually DO redeem yourself, at least, if not also others as well, to a sufficient enough degree in your own life and/or the lives of others! I OUGHT to KILL you because of your great cruelty to Senpai! But at least for Senpai's stake, if not also my own, at least, I shall not! At least not at this particular juncture, anyway!"

Several dozen punches, kicks, and/or throws later, perhaps, from both of them, Shinobu suddenly shouted, "But from this time on, normally, we ARE now mortal enemies, at least, until and/or unless you actually somehow are able to redeem at least yourself, if not anyone else, well enough! If you EVER hurt him again needlessly, I WILL kill you someday, if at all possible! Just as sure as I am now Shinobu Maehara, in truth, in my own mortal life, I promise you this without any possible doubt at all!"

Shinobu then quite quickly rendered Naru quite unconscious temporarily. Although it wasn't entirely without at least some, if not a lot of, resistance from Naru against Shinobu, of course. Shinobu soon bound her as she then saw fit with some rope and some handcuffs, for that matter. After she'd bound Naru sufficiently to her own satisfaction here and now, she soon did the same with Motoko. But she only did so with Mutsumi's own prior permission to do so, for various reasons, of course, in very short order indeed.

Mitsune, however, she eventually didn't bind. For Kaolla had already done that quite well enough with the quite secure net around Mitsune here and now. Once Shinobu finally realized this, she quite firmly indeed ordered that the three now-bound miscreants be taken back to the Apartments' grounds to each await their quite-likely fates.

Everyone who then needed to be on the grounds before Keitaro and those he'd be returning to them with arrived there were all soon on it as needed, of course. Once they all were, everyone now present who needed to get patched up was patched up as best as they then could be, if they'd not already been, for sure. Even the miscreants were, by the way. Although not by any of their fellow tenants, Haruka, and Seta, at least, if not also Sarah and/or Nyamo as well. This was for all the obvious reasons here and now, of course.

The three miscreants all then generally sat silently in one part of the living room. Even while everyone else kept their respective distances from them to the best of their own abilities to do just that here and now. Nobody talked to the miscreants any more than they absolutely had to, and vice versa. Even while everyone waited for Keitaro and any number of others to actually return to or arrive on the grounds again well enough, for that matter.

As they all then awaited what was going to happen and/or who was going to show up later, the living room phone suddenly rang without any warning at all. Shinobu was closest to it when it did, so she was the first one able to reach it, quite naturally enough. She quickly answered it, and then she quite quietly and quite secretly conversed for a while on it with the caller, for various reasons. Some possibly obvious, and some possibly not. In fact, that particular caller was Keitaro, although she didn't reveal that to anyone else for at least a few, if not several, minutes, for sure. And she most certainly did not do so while she was still talking to him on the living room phone, of course.

Once she eventually hung up the phone, she suddenly moved silently to Haruka's side before pulling her into her kitchen sufficiently away from all known eyes and ears. That was whether they were actually physical, mental, or electronic ones, for sure, in fact. When her kitchen was undeniably quite secure from any and all potential eavesdropping, Shinobu soon said, "The miscreants' combination attack sent Senpai to Molmol yesterday. He landed there during his 42nd orbit because of that combination attack of theirs. Grandma Hina was visiting and meeting there with several important people when he suddenly crash-landed right into the middle of it. And she is now quite furious with the miscreants' most recent actions towards Senpai. And I daresay she'll be even more so, once I reveal certain major secrets I've kept so far regarding certain people here, for that matter. She and Senpai will actually be joined by at least four parents, if not more, for example, when they get here."

The conversation eventually ended, but not before Shinobu had suddenly asked Haruka to monitor everyone in the living room where and how needed as she herself then attended to certain other things in her room for a while. Haruka quickly agreed to do just that, much to Shinobu's gratitude, in fact, just before Shinobu then quickly went up to her room again for at least a little while, if not a long while.

Shinobu went right to work doing and/or collecting whatever she then needed or desired to do and/or collect once she was safely behind her bedroom door again. She then remained in her own room for quite a good while mostly filling either a box on her desk or a backpack, in fact. Eventually, she put on the backpack and picked up the box and one or two other things then in her physical possession as well. Once she finally did so well enough to satisfy herself sufficiently well at the current time, she quickly left her room again for the living room.

Several minutes later, at most, she then was back in the living room quite near Haruka. Shinobu then very briefly conversed with Haruka about a few things that she currently wanted her to watch, for the obvious reasons. Haruka quite quickly agreed to do so very silently and very secretly indeed. Especially after Shinobu gave her a certain look that promised her substantial trouble if she didn't safeguard them all quite well enough while Shinobu was elsewhere.

Shinobu then quickly went to the top of the main steps to wait for her Senpai and various others to finally reach the grounds later on, in fact. Once there well enough, she then quickly pulled some art supplies and a new sketchbook out of her current light jacket. As she proceeded to await the now-imminent arrival of any number of other people, including both Keitaro and Grandma Hina, she also began sketching various people and things in her sketchbook as the mood then struck her to, for sure. No matter who or what they might then be, for that matter.

Eventually, a large group of people actually arrived at the base of the main steps, with both Keitaro and Grandma Hina in the lead as they all then did so quite well enough. Promptly at 4 pm local time, then, Keitaro said, "Everyone, we're here. Now it's time to take care of some possibly-unpleasant business up there soon, it seems."

Grandma Hina said, "Agreed, Keitaro. Let's see just what we all have to do here, then, of course."

Just as soon as Grandma Hina said that, the young lady then sitting on the main steps' top step quite suddenly dropped her art supplies there and silently raced right down them all quite well indeed. And quite surprisingly, at that. She especially raced right for Keitaro over everyone else then with him here and now. Before he could then react fast enough, somehow, Shinobu was most definitely on Keitaro, and giving him lips-to-lips kisses quite often for several long seconds, at least. She absolutely refused to release her grip on him well enough until she'd then given him at least forty such kisses straight, .if not more, in fact.

"Senpai, I'm SO glad you're finally back now, for sure!" shouted Shinobu, as she cried many tears of extreme joy over her beloved's most recent return to the Hinata Apartments' grounds. "I was REALLY scared that I'd just lost you forever, in fact!"

"I'm at least partly glad to be back, Shinobu-chan. But not totally, for all of the obvious reasons as well, of course."

"Yes, Senpai, I DO know that as well, quite unfortunately. Let's just do what we all might now HAVE to do with the guilty up there, if at all possible, then. No matter what might then happen somehow up there, for sure."

Several minutes later, at most, then, for everyone, Keitaro and all his current companions arrived at the main doors for the Apartments' main building. Leading them all there now were the quite-mad trio of Keitaro, Grandma Hina, and Shinobu. Keitaro was at the vertex of a leading V-formation consisting of just three people, with Grandma Hina to his left and Shinobu to his right. Everyone else soon fell into groupings of varying sizes and configurations behind one or more of them as the need or desire then arose for them all, in fact.

"Fools, prepare to meet your potential dooms! No matter WHO you are, and WHAT they might be!" shouted Keitaro, Grandma Hina, and Shinobu, all at the exact same time, quite strangely enough, somehow. When everyone inside heard them all, especially the three miscreants, they all quickly realized something big was inevitably just about to happen. Motoko, most of all, began getting an extremely bad feeling here and now, and much more or one than did Naru and Mitsune. Especially after she suddenly picked up several huge ki spikes, with the largest of them all somehow coming unquestionably from her very own sister Tsuruko Aoyama Sakagami.

Motoko suddenly blurted out, "Oh, no! She's here! And I'm probably toast, so to speak, once she gets after me well enough, for sure!"

"What, Motoko?" asked Naru and Mitsune.

"My sister's with Urashima and many others, you two, that's what! And she's VERY angry at me, if I can read her current ki level well enough, for that matter!"

"Oh, dear! That must NOT be good, if I get your drift well enough here," said Mitsune, a few seconds, at most, later.

"You better believe it, Konno-san!" shouted Grandma Hina, as everyone now with her quickly began crowding just as best as they then could into the living room here and now. "Your times of grossly mistreating Keitaro quite unfairly and quite unjustly indeed are now over forever, for sure, Konno-san, Narusegawa-san, and Aoyama-san! Prepare yourselves to face the now-possible consequences of all your actions against my dear grandson, right here and right now, for that matter!"

"Just what supposed unjust actions of ours are you speaking of, Grandma Hina?" asked Naru.

"I forbid you three to ever call me or refer to me by that designation in my sufficient enough presence again! At least until, and unless, any or all of you have sufficiently redeemed yourselves somehow in any or all of your lives, anyway! From now on, until any or all of you do, if ever, I must be called by you, or referred to by you as, 'Hinata Urashima-san' or 'Urashima-san!' Or else you miscreants will eventually regret your doing otherwise, one way or another, if at all possible, somehow!"

Shortly thereafter, things really started to get very volatile in the living room. And especially after Keitaro soon said, quite suddenly indeed, "It has now come to my attention that certain massively important matters have greatly BEEN neglected for far TOO long! That must DEFINITELY change now, and change FOREVER around here, at least, if not elsewhere as well, everyone! And they WILL change now, or else!"

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><p>Chapter Two for this particular story of mine will be rewritten as soon as possible, and then Chapter Three's writing will eventually be completed, if it's not actually posted before the brand-new version of Chapter Two is uploaded. This version of Chapter One, however, took quite some time, most likely, for me to actually complete well enough. But hopefully it will ultimately prove to be the best version yet of it so far. I hope that you all really like how it turned out this time, of course, people.<p>

Shinobu's quote regarding shoes perhaps being too tight and people forgetting how to dance comes from an episode of _Babylon 5_ called "War Prayer," I believe. Although, if memory serves, _Babylon 5_ was not on the air until sometime after 1992, in our own real timeline. Please correct me if I'm wrong about that, people, if you please.

For future contemplation, at least, just how will Naru, for instance, then somehow deal with Grandma Hina, Keitaro, and certain others who've already been seen in this particular story? Will she actually act up just as she quite often does, or will she somehow actually see reason in time to save her current place here in the Hinata Apartments well enough? Only time will truly tell, of course, people. And if she does the former, instead of the latter, will certain others in them now actually be forced out of the Hinata Apartments as well? Just some questions we might all want to consider here, for sure.

Well, I suppose that's just about enough stuff to talk about here for this particular story, at least. I really hope you all really enjoy this story a whole lot, and also leave me a lot of quite clean, quite courteous, and quite constructive reviews for it as I still continue to post even more chapters of it, come to think of it, everyone. As for any other stories of mine here on this site, whether past, current, and/or future, I hope to be able to post much more content for them sometime in the near future,if at all possible and appropriate enough, of course. Until later, then, I suppose I'd best close this part here, for the obvious enough reasons, for sure. TUS out.


	2. Chapter 002:  Tenants' Evictions

First of all, let's get to the disclaimer that I somehow forgot to add to last chapter's author notes. Consider it good from now on for that chapter, this chapter, and any other chapters that may eventually be part of this work, please, people. _Love Hina_ and all canon settings and characters, et cetera, belong to Ken Akamatsu and any number of people or business entities, where applicable here and now. There will be no monetary profit in this story, as a result, for me, unless I am somehow ever able to actually gain true ownership of the same. However, any non-canonical characters, et cetera, that you will see, or have already seen, so far in this story are unquestionably mine, unless otherwise stated, either now or some length of time after now. Just so you are all quite aware indeed of this particular fact before you then begin reading the next chapter of this particular story. Also, there may be multiple timelines, et cetera, that may periodically be in actual play at the exact same time, come to think of it, at any specific time whatsoever, if not currently, anywhere at all in the story. As we last left off with this story, then, Keitaro eventually had returned to the Apartments' grounds with any number of other people. And he is currently not in a very good mood, and neither are a lot of other characters, whether canonical or not. This next chapter should be a real good one for you to read, I hope, everyone.

I hope you will all enjoy it somewhat, if not a great deal, of course. Things are already quite tense, and they're quite likely to get even more so as this story continues, depending on how various characters might react often enough in it, I think. And I hope that you all seriously consider reading it and leaving some quite clean, quite courteous, and quite constructive reviews and/or private messages for it in time, for that matter, quite obviously enough. With no further ado, then, I shall therefore end this introduction to the chapter now located immediately below, and let you all finally get on with reading it. Until later, then, people, TUS out.

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><p>Chapter Two: Tenants' Evictions<p>

* * *

><p>"And just how do you plan to make that happen, then, Keitaro?" asked Haruka.<p>

"I am certainly going to evict from these Apartments at least three, if not four, of the current tenants of them for just cause, for instance, Haruka," answered Keitaro, as a matter of fact.

"I see. Who's being evicted then, if I might ask?"

"Wait and see, Haruka," said Grandma Hina. "Shinobu-chan, please start sharing the necessary things with us here and now, if you don't mind too much, of course."

Shinobu nodded, and began complying immediately with Grandma Hina's just-made request as then necessary and as appropriate, quite obviously enough. Some through hard copies of certain printed materials, some audio tapes, and/or some video tapes, at the very least, if not also in any other forms as well, in fact. As everyone began receiving certain materials from her, and began going through them as they then saw fit, many of them began to get quite angry indeed at one or more of the three miscreants, for that matter. Especially after Shinobu suddenly said, "There may be any number of unknown possible offenses by any or all of us, for that matter. But one thing, at least, is quite certain indeed. Naru is the person here with the most known possible offenses by us all here. Out of 11,372 known possible offenses by us all here, she is responsible, at least in part, if not entirely, for 3,712 known possible offenses over a period of nearly 650 days, more or less. Most of them against Senpai, in fact."

"Fabricated evidence, most likely, for the most part, just to make Keitaro look good to many others here," said Naru.

"I think not. Everyone, if you can, please view some attack footage caught over just the last month, at least, by various cameras around these grounds, then. I'm not making these things up, as you all will hopefully see well enough," said Shinobu, as she then inserted a video tape into a nearby VCR, and began to play it. "Many, if not most or all, of these attacks are executed solely by Naru, and without just enough cause at that, mind you all. You will hopefully all see what I'm suggesting here well enough after you see all this brutal evidence as well, of course."

Everyone now present who could do so well enough then viewed that tape's contents here until they felt they'd all seen them well enough. After they then did so well enough, Shinobu popped out that tape, and periodically played parts of other tapes related to others besides Naru among the Apartments' residents. Even ones related to her or to Keitaro here and now, for all the obvious reasons. She didn't show every known possible offense from the necessary time period, but she did still show many of them by any number of people, just the same.

"So you're all guilty of such possible offenses over the last roughly 21 months," said Grandma Hina. "Right, Shinobu?"

"Yes, unfortunately so. Even me, in fact. Many of my possible offenses may be ones of permissiveness and of disbelief and of fear, if not all of them. But that isn't a very sturdy excuse for me to possibly commit them, just the same. Senpai got hurt a lot because of at least those things from me, if not also any other things from me as well. But if he lets me stay, nobody else will deliberately hurt him again needlessly, if I can possibly ever help it well enough somehow, on my word of honor as a Maehara."

"What would you possibly know of honor?" asked Motoko, with a tone of voice that suggested great skepticism and great potential disgust mixed together somehow.

"Much more than you could ever possibly believe, I believe, Aoyama-baka! I have NEVER deliberately sought to physically hurt him permanently, at least, like you, Narusegawa-baka, and possibly Kaolla-senpai have. Sure, I have not always been completely happy with him, and I may have accidentally kicked him below the belt some time ago at a beach. But I have NEVER deliberately sought to permanently hurt him physically well enough somehow just like at least two or three of the other people here have, for sure!"

"Why, you ungrateful whelp! We've always tried to protect you and Kaolla and Sarah, at least, from any possible inappropriate actions of his, and this is how you repay us?" asked Naru.

"I cherish every second that I possibly can whenever I'm in his presence, Narusegawa-baka. Even in cases where he unexpectedly and unintentionally lands in a potentially compromising situation with me. Let's try a little test here, then, if we may." Shinobu walked over to Keitaro, and sat on his lap on the main couch for the living room. She then whispered briefly in his ear, before taking his hands and placing them on her shoulders, with her back to him, at least for the most part, if not entirely. That done, she then placed her own hands on top of his, and began to gently bring his hands up and down between her shoulders and elbows every so often. At least at first, anyway. After a few minutes of this, Shinobu soon asked, "Is he molesting me now, Naru-baka, like you often have claimed he does? Is he being a pervert now, or not?"

"He's touching you where he shouldn't be, for sure," said Naru.

"Who initiated or caused my current physical contact with him?"

"You did, Maehara-san. Your point being?"

"He's not being perverted now, in truth. Am I possibly being so now, though? Especially if I do this?" Shinobu shifted so that she was centered more on his lap, just before moving her own hands to his thighs and beginning to caress or squeeze them through his jeans for several long moments, at least. She also began to rock back and forth a bit on his lap, even wiggling her butt a little at the same time.

"Stop it, Maehara-san! You're going to make him do things that he shouldn't do to someone like you, if you don't!" shouted Naru, quite loudly indeed.

"What does it matter to you? Furthermore, let me tell you something, Naru-baka! You are NOT his promise girl that he's been searching for all these years! I don't know exactly just HOW I know this now, but I still DO know that you ACTUALLY aren't, somehow! So what does it matter to you, then?" shouted back Shinobu, just as loudly.

"You're too young, for one thing!"

"Maybe I am, or maybe I am not. At least chronologically, if not also in any other way or ways, as well, anyway. But I really don't care whether or not I am, just the same. For I LOVE him very much indeed."

"He has certain material that's quite mature in its nature in his room, Maehara-san."

"So what if he does? I might personally not like that fact, of course. But he still has a right to live his life as he sees fit, within reason, to the best of his ability. Even if he perhaps reads or views such material periodically in his own life whenever he's in his own private rooms, for that matter."

"But such things degrade females quite often, for sure!"

"Maybe so, Naru-baka. But is it not also true that several magazines have asked you to participate in photo shoots or short films every so often, as well, purportedly for innocent enough purposes?"

"Yes, of course. What of it?"

"At least some of those magazines have been rumored to periodically work their models quite secretly into less innocent photo shoots and/or short films. In fact, at least a few of them may even possibly be purveyors of the same kind of things that Senpai normally keeps securely locked up in his own room just as best as he possibly can. If not even worse kinds than such things, by the way. You HAVE begun to consider modeling for various magazines, for that matter, as evidenced by Exhibit 356," said Shinobu, as she briefly reached one hand into the box she'd earlier brought to the living room. She handed a blown-up photograph taken from a security camera video to Grandma Hina from that box, and had her read the words then visible on that photograph.

Grandma Hina read, "'Mitsune has been trying to get me to model for several local magazines and/or newspapers, at least, for a few days. She said the money can often be quite good for just a few hours a month. And I currently seem to be quite short of it of late after the pervert's ruined several items of my clothes, at least, by tearing them or spilling things on them, for instance. When will that idiot stop acting like he all too often does? Why can't he just go away once and for all?'" She paused briefly, before Shinobu passed her another photograph. Continuing, Grandma Hina soon read, "'Things have gotten even worse with the pervert today, it seems to me. Three outfits of mine ruined enough just today by him. Two by tearing, one by soiling with assorted possibly uncleanable substances. Maybe I should actually accept several magazines' offers to do various photo shoots and short films for a while after all. What could it hurt to do photo shoots for magazines such as _Women's Weekly Roundup_, for instance?'"

Shinobu soon asked, "_WWR_ is a front for a business and underworld empire of great depravity and great debauchery. It seems that those who model for it often end up in police blotters, certain adult media, or dead within five to ten years, on average. Before you falsely accuse me or the security mistress here of spying on you to get this potentially damaging evidence against you, the fact is that you accidentally left papers with the just-read words in the changing room for a little while before you finally remembered you had done so well enough. Before you did, then, the applicable cameras captured those words on tape and in photographs. And, if I'm not mistaken, the changing room is not just yours alone, is it?"

"No, of course it isn't, Maehara-san."

"Then it seems you're considering going into a certain business that quite often leads many women and girls into such things as I just mentioned. I did some digging with Kaolla after I eventually became sufficiently aware of these words well enough, and learned of the things I just mentioned here and now. And it also came to my notice two days ago that you had decided to model for _WWR_ starting this coming weekend, in fact, for the upcoming issue that's due to come out next month around this time, when you accidentally left a note, Exhibit 358, near the phone in this very room." She then wiggled a bit more on Keitaro's lap.

"Shinobu, I think you'll need to get off me very soon, before it's possibly too late," said Keitaro, all of a sudden.

"Why, Senpai?"

"Because if you don't, I might do some things I shouldn't do in front of everyone here, for sure, Shinobu-chan."

"But I like being here, Senpai."

"Please get off me, Shinobu. I'm about two minutes from losing sufficient control of myself, perhaps. And I don't really want to, of course."

"Very well, Senpai. But I really don't like it, just the same," said Shinobu, very reluctantly indeed, as she quickly hurried off his lap, and let him actually get off the couch as well. He fled to the nearest available bathroom just as quickly as he then could, once she was off his lap well enough, of course.

Once he was gone from the room well enough, two people who were obviously Naru's parents began to shoot very angry looks indeed at Naru as her cousin Mei watched from elsewhere in the room. Her father Shinji soon said, "You have REALLY screwed up big-time, Naru-chan."

"Not as much as that man has, Poppa. He always tries to peek at us or do many other things to or with us, it seems."

"Doubtful, Naru-chan," said her mother Kayumiko. "The already-presented evidence doesn't support your claims very well, if at all, for sure. I know we didn't raise you very well, for numerous reasons, but just why do you obviously think it's right for you and various others to mistreat often that man so cruelly as you've obviously done so many times before?"

"He doesn't treat us all right like he should, for one thing, Mama."

"You have disgraced our family name, Naru-chan," said Shinji. "So much so, in fact, that not even our sub-House's leaders can somehow actually prevent whatever consequences your actions against him and others might warrant here well enough here and now. You are completely at the mercy of the Urashimas and/or law enforcement regarding them, for that matter. We can't do a single thing more to help you right now, if ever again, well enough, it seems to us both, by the way."

"Nothing at all?"

"Correct, nothing at all, Naru-chan," said Kayumiko. "Furthermore, you have caused various others to do great wrong by him as well. Some considerably more than others, most likely, for quite a long while, at that."

Mitsune said, "Certainly such abandonment of one of their sub-House's members is not necessary, even given the offenses she's alleged to have committed around us all before."

"They could do that if they felt it necessary to protect the overall family honor of those people who are part of their sub-House just as best as they possibly could, and especially the innocent members of it, Konno-san," said Tsuruko, a little while later. "It might be quite unpleasant indeed to actually abandon one of their sub-House, as you just put it, obviously. But, from what most of us have already seen so far related to Naru, they might not actually have much, if any, choice in doing just that here and now."

"It's not right, though!" shouted Motoko.

"Motoko, you also have often behaved quite cruelly indeed to him as well. You have MUCH to answer for already, from what we've actually been able to learn about well enough of your possible offenses against him so far, it seems. I would really watch just what you say now, before several of the people here take out their anger significantly enough on you, including even me, somehow," said Tsuruko.

"She has at least 2,156 known possible offenses on her own record now, it seems, Tsuruko-san, against any number of people," said Shinobu. "Most of them, of course, committed against Senpai."

"That many?" asked Hirotsugu Sakagami, the only blind person in the room, most likely, in fact.

"Yest, at least that many that I'm aware of at present, Hirotsugu-san," replied Shinobu, even as she refilled his current teacup as needed with more tea. "And I often find myself having to help him attend to the injuries inflicted on him after he's actually been attacked by anyone at all around him in his own life. Motoko often hits him quite hard whenever she attacks him without just enough cause, in fact. And often greatly dishonors Shisui whenever she does so, at that, come to think of it."

"I don't dishonor my sword when I try to protect the weak and innocent from those who would possibly misuse them, Maehara-san," said Motoko.

"Oh, really? Then just how would you perhaps act whenever a female did things to a male like I was just doing to Senpai here, Aoyama-baka? He wasn't doing anything I was particularly objecting to, was he, before he had to leave us briefly?"

"I'd perhaps think they were just getting their eventual deserved revenge on males for their known perversions, normally. Men ought to be taught that women aren't just theirs to do with as they wish, and often to be discarded just like old shoes when they're no longer wanted by men in their lives," said Motoko.

"You ARE a hypocrite, Aoyama-baka! So what you're ESSENTIALLY saying is that women can do potentially naughty things with men, and men CAN'T perhaps do roughly the same kind or kinds of things with the women, it seems to me."

"So what? Your point, Maehara-san?" asked Motoko.

"So females could hypothetically put their hands on males in certain areas of their bodies at times, without the males starting anything at all, and the males generally would be thought guilty until proven innocent. While if the opposite was true, and the contact-initiators were male, they would still generally be considered guilty until proven innocent. Is that what you're suggesting here?"

"If I am, what of it?" challenged Motoko.

"You wouldn't EVEN be here if your mother HADN'T ever fallen willingly in true love with your father, Aoyama-baka! They BOTH made love with each other in order to bring both Tsuruko and you, at least, as far as I now know, into this world of ours, for that matter! Your own mother is a very wise and very kind woman, no doubt! But you are quite misandristic, if I'm not too mistaken here with your evident reversed chauvinistic philosophy, for sure!"

Another male in the room, and who looked a lot like Mitsune, in fact, soon spoke up, and asked, "Is that so, Maehara-san?"

"Yes, sir, it very much is, unfortunately. Do I know you or your wife, somehow, by any chance?"

"No, I don't believe so. But we are both still here at Urashima-sama's request, just the same, in fact. However, for your information, we are both Mitsune's quite foolish parents. Foolish, anyway, at least in the sense of not actually raising her up right from the get-go, so to speak. If not also in any number of other possible senses as well. If we had perhaps not been so determined to make great leaps in social circles, for instance, far too often, we might possibly have been able to keep her from ever consuming alcohol, for instance, in her life somehow. She no doubt drank to try and help fill the inevitable gaps our mutual gross neglect of her left in her life. She definitely needed to have real major attention she wasn't obviously getting from us, so we eventually let Urashima-sama take her in here indefinitely. That is why she originally came here, in the first place," said Akunori Konno, Mitsune's obvious father.

Mitsune's obvious mother, one Ekarumi Konno, soon added,. "Unfortunately, Mitsune-chan is now legally an adult. As such, we also can't stop whatever the Urashimas and/or law enforcement might have now planned for her well enough, most likely, Maehara-san. If she were still a minor, we possibly might have been able to, at least in part, if not entirely. But she's not, of course, for sure. Furthermore, our superiors in our House and/or sub-House will NOT interfere or attempt to do so when it comes to the potential settling of any of her related debts, et cetera, with the Urashimas, at least, as well."

"So she's essentially hung herself out to dry, as Shinobu might put it, with her numerous attempts at blackmail, for example, Ekarumi-san?" asked Mutsumi.

"Otohime-san, is it?" When Mutsumi nodded, Ekarumi said, "Yes, I believe it's just that way, in essence, Otohime-san. We were quite full of ourselves for FAR too long, in essence, and we then let Mitsune do certain things she never should have repeatedly done in her life. Now our family, at least, if not also our sub-House and/or our main House, potentially will remain in ruins for quite a long while indeed."

"Unless what?" asked a masked and cloaked woman from somewhere near the main doors to the Apartments' main building and who was now standing with several others in a group there.

"Unless the necessary people were willing to consider being merciful enough to Mitsune, at least, if not anyone else as well, Cloak-san," said Akunori.

Some moderate length of time later, Keitaro finally then returned from wherever he'd ultimately just gone when he'd left the living room for at least a little while, if not a long while, of course. Charges were soon also make against Kaolla and certain others now present, for the obvious reasons. And the accused people were each allowed attempts to sufficiently defend themselves and their known possible offenses well enough. Even Keitaro or Shinobu here and now, for instance.

After said defense attempts were made, and impromptu juries/courts of a sort were left to consider certain things for at least a little while, if not a long while, it turned out such juries ultimately convicted Naru, Motoko, and Mitsune, at least, on numerous counts sufficiently related to any number of their known possible offenses against and around Keitaro, of course. As soon as that happened, Keitaro then quickly went into the kitchen with Haruka and Grandma Hina for a considerable discussion of some sort with them both.

When all three of them were there, and they were all quite sure indeed that nobody else who was both sentient and mortal now was then trying to spy on them in any way whatsoever, Keitaro said, "I think we should each perhaps let them decide their punishments, to at least some degree, if at all possible, Grandma Hina."

"Please explain, if you wish, Keitaro," said Grandma Hina.

"If we possibly let them have some say in whatever punishments they might receive, then we might somehow eventually see them redeem themselves well enough in the future. We also will appear to be more far and more merciful, at least, I think, when it comes to our dealings with them here and now. Now I don't totally know about the both of you, of course. But I still honestly do care a great deal for them all. And I really do hope that they can all sufficiently enough somehow actually redeem themselves in at least their own lives, if not anyone else's as well, for that matter, most definitely," said Keitaro, a few moments and a few ginger snaps later, in fact.

Haruka and Grandma Hina considered all those things for a little while over some tea and brownies Shinobu had made earlier. They discussed several other things with Keitaro as they then did so as well. After some considerable discussion and contemplation for all three of them in the kitchen, Haruka eventually said, "If Grandma Hina has no real problems with your proposed ideas regarding the guilty, Keitaro, then neither do I."

Grandma Hina remained silent for just a little bit longer, before finally saying, "I may still own these entire Apartments' grounds, of course, you two. But I have made him manager and resident landlord of them, to deal with as he sees fit, if and whenever possible and appropriate, to the very best of his own ability to do so. Therefore, if he wishes to evict at least the three, if not four, oldest tenants other than Mutsumi from them, I will not object any more than I absolutely have to. Even if at least part of me might want me to do that, if not all of me. The guilty MUST unfortunately be punished, as their proven offenses might then warrant. In a manner of speaking, at least, the guilty have essentially made their own beds with their actions and/or words, et cetera. As such, they must now lie in the beds that the possible consequences for their various offenses will soon create for them all, so to speak. At least until they somehow manage to redeem themselves well enough, if ever, that is. For the first three, at least, I will not needlessly oppose whatever possible punishments, of course, for the obvious reasons, in fact."

"And what of Kaolla-chan?" asked Haruka. "What do you perhaps have planned for her by now, Keitaro?"

"I don't know exactly how I'm going to deal with her just yet, Haruka," said Keitaro. "Remember, she's still not yet 16 years old, at least as far as we all know well enough. So we may indeed have to deal with her at least a little differently, if not a lot differently, than we will have to deal later with Naru, Mitsune, and Motoko, for all the obvious reasons here and now."

Grandma Hina considered that potential fact for at least a few seconds, and then said, "Yes, I would probably agree considerably with what you just said about Kaolla, Keitaro. But we must be very careful in her case, I think, or she could eventually turn out to be too much like the other three somehow, quite possibly."

"And that's something we don't really want now or ever, do we?" asked Haruka.

"No,. Of course not, if she's potentially liable to have major anger management issues, for instance with various other people in her own life. And especially with less sturdy males, of course, who aren't enough like Keitaro in their own lives, Haruka," said Grandma Hina, perhaps a few seconds or so later, more or less.

* * *

><p>A little while later, all three of them went back to the living room with each other, and completely straight-faced as they all did so, for all the obvious reasons here and now. But not without first making a brief detour to his room for some papers. Keitaro soon sat, before eventually saying, "Naru Narusegawa-san, you have been convicted of numerous offenses committed here and in various other places. If you wish to speak before we pronounce sentence on you for these offenses, you are welcome to do so. But you will still not ultimately escape our sentence for many committed offenses, just the same."<p>

Naru thought about that, for quite some length of time in silence, before quite unexpectedly saying, "I understand, Keitaro Urashima-san. There is no way I will convince you, most likely, to let me stay here now, as things currently stand, after everything I've said and done, at least, around here and/or elsewhere. Begging to stay here right now would be a waste of all our time, no doubt. Unfortunately, at least at this time in my life, this is certainly not the proper place for me to be in it. Rather than to waste time needlessly in useless babble, for all of us, it probably would be best for us all to just deal with this now, and be concerned about the potential repercussions later, if ever. I really thought we all could spend the rest of our lives together here, though, for everyone's information here and now."

"Anything else, Naru Narusegawa-san, before we pronounce sentence, then?" asked Grandma Hina, as she also sipped some tea then in front of her.

"No, I don't think so, Hinata Urashima-san," said Naru, a few very brief moments later. "Let's not drag things out here any longer than we absolutely have to, for all the obvious reasons, then, of course."

"Very well, then, Naru-san. Keitaro will therefore pronounce sentence on you as he might then see fit, in that case," said Haruka.

Keitaro briefly looked all around the room, before finally looking very solidly right at Naru here and now for a little while. After he felt he'd then done so for a long enough time, he said, "Naru-san, as part of your own sentence here, you WILL be evicted from these grounds by this time a week from tomorrow. However, we have all decided to allow at least three of you, if not four of you, to have at least some, if not total, say on what your punishments should be for your various offenses that you've duly been convicted of, in fact. In your own particular case, I have now come up with three possible sentences for you that would hopefully satisfy enough of us legally enough, somehow. Either you will have to choose one of them, or I will have to do that, if you don't."

"What are my three choices here, then, Keitaro-san?" asked Naru.

"Choice number one will require you to provide permanent service to our Clan/sub-House for life, in all required ways, no matter what they may be, in fact," said Keitaro.

"What's choice number two?"

"Jail for perhaps 25 years to life and/or a permanent banning from Hinata."

"And choice number three?"

"Service with Cloak-san's organization and a ten-year banning from Hinata and/or a Good Conduct discharge. The three choices are permanent, unless we decide otherwise some time in the future, if ever. So choose just as wisely as you possibly can from the provided options, or I will, Naru-san. If I choose from them, don't expect me, however, to ever change my mind about my choice, most likely. Take whatever time you need to make your choice, and be quite prepared to stand by it for life, if necessary. For it's most likely going to be one of the most important decisions you'll ever make in your life. Don't make your choice too lightly, either, .or I may have to veto it and make the choice myself, for that matter. You may go back to your room with your parents long enough to think over your possible choices here and now, if you want. If you do, you may NOT discuss them at all with your parents, by the way, though."

Naru nodded, and then moved from where she now was in the room to the necessary stairs leading upstairs. Her parents quickly followed in complete silence, of course.

Once she and they were all sufficiently out of earshot and eyesight for everyone then still in the living room, Keitaro eventually turned to Motoko, and gave her certain choices to consider as well. One of those choices, besides the ones that were also mentioned to Naru, would require that Motoko would have to permanently return to Kyoto and accept a permanent banning from Hinata whenever possible. Motoko was allowed as well to return to her room for a time to consider her own current options, but also told she couldn't discuss them at all with her sister and her brother-in-law as she then did so there.

Mitsune was soon given several options of her own, some of which, if not all of which, were similar to the ones given shortly before then to both Motoko and Naru, in fact. After which, she and her parents went to her own room, to consider her options in quite complete silence, by the way.

That then allowed Keitaro to move right on to Kaolla's unusual case here and now, of course. He soon said, "Kaolla-chan, as for you, we have several choices that you will also need to consider here."

"And those are, Keitaro?" asked Kaolla. "Please be honest."

"Of course, Kaolla. First choice, which your sister, at least, seems to want now, somehow, is deportation to Molmol with a permanent banning from Hinata. Second choice, service with Cloak-san's organization and possibly a partial, if not total, ten-year banning from Hinata and /or a Good Conduct discharge. Third choice, permanent service to my Clan/sub-House. Or fourth choice, a ten-year Japanese jail sentence under Japanese juvenile correctional standards, unless you commit other serious enough offenses that might warrant Japanese adult correctional standards."

"What does Cloak-san's organization do?" asked Kaolla.

Cloak-san soon answered, with Keitaro's eventual somewhat willing consent," You will only be able to find out well enough if you choose the choice related to us that your manager has permitted you here. However, if you do ultimately choose to actually join my organization, you had best be prepared to undergo quite rigorous training indeed until such time as I and my people might so decide. If you somehow do meet or do exceed our own quite exacting requirements as might then be sufficiently applicable for you, .then you very well could rise very high indeed, status-wise, in it. And you might even someday actually see me somehow completely uncloaked and unmasked well enough, for that matter. I will NOT force you to join us, of course. But IF you do, do NOT expect many good things all the time, for sure. Whether they're bananas, for instance, or not, come to think of it, Kaolla-san."

"Sounds interesting. Are you absolutely sure you can't give me at least a little hint about the specific organization you currently run, somehow?" asked Kaolla, with as much of a puppy-dog face as she could then muster well enough at the current time in use as she did so.

Cloak-san briefly called several of her current companions outside with her for a short conversation out of everyone else's earshot. They returned roughly five minutes later with a fully-assembled device about the size of a normal basketball and three boxes. Each box was about eighteen inches long by about fourteen inches wide by about eight inches deep. Cloak-san soon said, "In these boxes are various components of various kinds. We are now going to test you here on your technological, computer, and mechanical skills and know-how, at least. We are aware you have a laboratory, so you will be tested there. Three of my associates will be monitoring you as we test you. And they will mention the conditions of that testing only in the complete privacy of your room/laboratory. You will be permitted on potential assistant during the test. And that one potential assistant is Amalla, for your information. You may only converse with her as absolutely required with her during it, as well. Pass the test to a sufficient enough degree, and I will seriously consider giving you the hint you just requested. The three associates of mine who will be monitoring you doing the test are Joystick, Feedback, and Slipstream."

"Understood, Cloak-san," said Kaolla, quite seriously indeed, once she realized that Cloak-san was not in a particularly joking mood here and now.

"Any other questions at this time, then, Dulce?" asked Cloak-san, as she leaned against a nearby wall while still holding the roughly basketball-sized object of some yet-unknown sort.

"No, Cloak-san. I don't believe so. At least not at this time, anyway."

"Very well, then. Amalla-san, please take this object to your sister's room/laboratory while my associates do the same with the three boxes they're each now holding, if you don't mind too much."

"As you wish, Cloak-san," said Amalla, as she then moved from somewhere near Seta to stand in front of Cloak-san as needed. Amalla soon took the object in question as she then had to, especially after Cloak-san lowered her voice enough to not permit anyone else in the room now to know what she was saying well enough at the current time.

Fifteen seconds, at most, later, five people, including Kaolla, silently left the living room and headed upstairs as needed. After they did so, Shinobu soon asked, "Senpai, do you think she'll pass their test well enough?"

"I really don't know, Shinobu-chan, for the obvious reasons. One thing is true, at least, about it, if I'm not too mistaken here," said Keitaro.

"And that is?" asked Haruka.

"If Kaolla fails, then Cloak-san will definitely not give Kaolla-chan the hint she requested, it seems to me now, Haruka."

Grandma Hina briefly looked around the room before turning her face towards Keitaro for a while, and saying, "Kaolla-chan WILL pass her test, at least for the most part, if not totally, with the proverbial flying colors, so to speak. I can't really tell you why I'm saying this right here and right now, mind you all, perhaps. But, somehow, I still now know she will, just the same."

Silence generally reigned for about the next fifteen or so minutes as everyone else considered what Grandma Hina had just said. Not to mention each possibly any number of things and/or people, for that matter.

Thirty minutes or so after that, Naru and her parents all eventually returned to the living room in order to announce Naru's decision about her current options sufficiently well to everyone now present in it.

Keitaro soon asked, "What is your decision, Naru-san?"

"Please first answer one of mine, if you don't mind too much, Keitaro-san," said Naru.

"One question, and one question only."

"Where are Motoko, Tsuruko, Hirotsugu, Mitsune, Mitsune's parents, Kaolla, Amalla, and three of Cloak-san's obvious companions?"

"Motoko, Tsuruko, and Hirotsugu are now all in Motoko's room while she thinks over her current options here. Mitsune is in her room with her parents doing the same thing, in essence. As for Kaolla, she is taking a test of sorts in the presence of four other people."

"I see. In that case, I choose to wait to announce my required choice of sentence until everyone else returns here as well," said Naru, about five minutes later, more or less, as the current time rapidly approached 10:30 at night, more or less.

Motoko and her two monitors came back downstairs at around 11:45 pm local time. And they all soon found certain places to sleep amidst the current crowd in the living room, where possible, somehow. Most of the people there now were asleep, or nearly so already, in fact. For instance, Shinobu was lying length-wise on her left side and stretched out over Haruka, Keitaro, and Grandma Hina's legs, with Keitaro in the middle, Haruka to his right, and Grandma Hina to his left. Only Grandma Hina was sufficiently conscious on the main couch, though, when Motoko and her two monitors came back downstairs again with each other. With one hand, Grandma Hina soon pointed them all to certain place elsewhere in the room. Even while she also gently stroked Shinobu's head with her other one, for that matter.

The Konnos soon returned, and Grandma Hina soon motioned them to other places in the room as well. When the Konnos returned to the living room again with each other, only Grandma Hina and three of Cloak's associates were now present and sufficiently awake. Mitsune soon asked very quietly indeed, for all the obvious reasons, "Where are Cloak-san and her husband, if you don't mind me asking too much, Hinata Urashima-san?"

"Somewhere that I'm not telling you right now, at least, if ever, for sure, Mitsune-san. Frankly, it's not any of your business, anyway. Don't even think of trying to find them anywhere, either, or you and all your things will be totally off our property tomorrow without prior additional warning, among other things."

"Not only that, but our boss and her husband and/or their children have been quite well-trained in how to deal with spies and/or eavesdroppers, for instance. Possibly several, if not all, of them have been trained in the proper use of lethal force, for that matter. So I really would NOT press the issue further unless you possibly want to really be somewhere quite hot someday. Especially considering the fact that both Cloak-san and her husband, at least, have actually killed many people before," said one of Cloak-san's still-awake associates.

"Or at least lookalikes to them have done so, anyway, that is," said a second one of them, in very short order.

"They quite often react very angrily indeed to being needlessly interrupted at certain private times, whatever they might be as well," said the first masked person here.

"Furthermore, she and her husband both left quite explicit instructions that they were absolutely NOT to be interrupted and/or disturbed needlessly by anyone at all. If they were, the guilty party or parties could quickly find themselves in very great, if not very grave, danger, for sure. Depending on who they might then be, that is, of course," said the third masked and still-awake person here and now.

"And I'm not one of those who might somehow get away totally unscathed, I take it," said Mitsune, a few rather quiet moments, perhaps, later.

"Correct. In fact, in at least fifty to eighty alternate timelines, dimensions, or universes, if not more, you and/or your own personal doppelgangers have been killed about eighty to ninety percent of the time by Cloak-san, by her husband, by any or all of us, or by our lookalikes in them, at certain private times, if I'm not too mistaken here and now," said the first of the three, even as the three masked people also confirmed they were all quite female, for that matter.

"In fact, we have a multiple-dimensional dossier on you, Mitsune-san. And we add to it whenever we encounter you or one of your lookalikes. Not to mention such dossiers on any, if not all, of the people now on at least these grounds, as well, come to think of it," said the second one here and now.

"So you'd best watch yourself at least until Hime-sama and her husband finally return to this room well enough with each other, Mitsune-san," said the third masked woman now present and still sufficiently awake, for sure.

So Mitsune and her parents eventually found places to sleep somewhere in the room, and were all quiet soundly asleep mere minutes, at most, later. After they all were unquestionably quite asleep, Grandma Hina said, "She seemed to back down fairly quickly after you told her that Cloak-san, for instance, might possibly seek to kill her if she tried to interrupt them needlessly, if I'm not too mistaken here."

"Yes, it seems so too," said the first masked woman, who soon called herself Spitfire.

"But will she still tempt what might happen, given her penchant for gambling, somehow?" asked the second present masked woman, with her code name being Sunspot at the current time.

"Only God knows for sure, possibly," said the third masked young woman, who soon identified herself as Tempest, when the need for her eventually arose well enough. "In any case, though, I really DO hope that my kinswoman Kaolla somehow actually passes the actual testing that she's now being given by three of our current associates, personally, for various reasons. Some might be quite obvious, and some might not be so obvious now, though, of course."

"So are you a member of sub-House Su, then, Tempest, by any chance?" asked Grandma Hina.

"Perhaps I am. Perhaps not. But I will still say that I am from a family at least partly related to Kaolla, just the same. For further elaboration on my personal family tree, though, you will have to ask Cloak-san and her husband, for sure. I may have already said too much already here, anyway."

"I don't think so, Tempest," said Sunspot. "At least right now, anyway, I don't."

Grandma Hina soon drifted off to sleep, once Spitfire promised they would wake her up by 7:30 in the morning, if she wasn't already up by then. After she had done so well enough, Sunspot eventually said, "I hope that Naru and the others likely being evicted here eventually do join us with STARSHIP."

"She's a real firecracker and a chameleon of sorts, I think," said Spitfire. "That's based on what I've seen of her personally here so far. Question is, will she ever learn not to normally strike first and ask questions later, instead of normally doing what she normally has done and normally does in any number of potential or actual situations? I really don't know."

"What of Motoko, then, Spitfire?" asked Tempest, in a somewhat curious manner.

"Hard-minded, scared of most males and most turtles, strong, great potential if it's harnessed properly enough, quite beautiful, but afraid to be feminine, along with perhaps several other yet-unknown things about her, at least," answered Spitfire, as she briefly glanced at Motoko elsewhere in the room.

"And the supposed fox?" asked Sunspot, as she briefly looked at Mitsune's curled-up form somewhere near both Naru and Motoko.

"Mitsune is a real trickster who seems to sometimes, at least, not know when her pranks go too far, I think. She might need to learn how to better play tricks on people, where and when appropriate enough, as well. Maybe Harbinger and Joystick could teach her how to do so much better in her life than she generally already does?" asked Spitfire.

"Maybe they could, come to think of it," acknowledged Tempest. "But what might then happen when she eventually learns that they both are at least dating each other in their respective mortal lives, if they're not even more involved with each other than just dating each other? Her dossier mentions at quite considerable length her quite great penchant for flirting with various males, if I remember things well enough here and now, somehow, Spitfire."

* * *

><p>The three of them stood guard over all the sleepers at least until they began waking up in the living room near each other, mostly, if not entirely, quite silently indeed. The first of the sleepers to wake up in it were Shinobu and Keitaro, in fact, when they woke up nuzzled quite close indeed to each other at around 6:15 in the morning, much to their mutual surprise and pleasure.<p>

Shinobu noticed this first, and graced the waking-up Keitaro with a fairly pleasant smile once she was sure enough that he was sufficiently conscious to recognize who was smiling at him and realize he was not actually being made a fool of at all well enough. She did this, even as their arms were still somewhat entangled together, more or less, in fact, at least.

Keitaro said, a few seconds later, "I hope you slept well, Shinobu-chan. But I think you're going to have to move a bit, for I'm still a bit stiff now, for obvious reasons, in various places."

"Like?" asked Shinobu, with a bit of a still-innocent expression on her face, even as she asked that of him.

"THAT place, for instance. And I CAN'T wait very long to attend to it, so please scoot to one side, and let me do that soon."

"Oh, I see. Very well, then, Senpai. I shall have to scoot over, of course. But, first, I want to do something before I do, if that's all right with you." Shinobu said this as she also somehow caught a brief glimpse of Naru perhaps waking up briefly for a few minutes or so, at most.

"What's that?" asked Keitaro, as Naru and Shinobu's eyes briefly locked on each other. He began to get the feeling that someone else had just woken up for at least a little while.

"Something I've wanted to do for at least a little while, Senpai."

"Who's watching?"

"Naru-san," said Shinobu.

"I'm sorry, Shinobu-chan, but I really can't let you actually kiss me in front of her right now, if I'm somehow getting your evident drift here quite well enough. I know you have really wanted to kiss me for quite some considerable length of time. But I normally don't really like kissing other people when so many others are around me at the same time. I never have, and probably I never will, in fact."

"You still love her very much," said Shinobu.

"We are THROUGH for good, if she can't learn to control her rages sufficiently well, somehow, in her life, at least, if not other people's lives as well. Honestly, I still DO love her very much. But I can no longer stand actually being with someone who I can't feel safe enough with enough of the time that I still have left to me in my life. I will NOT date her again at least until she somehow sufficiently enough redeems herself, Shinobu. Naru will ALWAYS mean a lot to me, I am sure. But the way things are now MUST change, and change quite GREATLY indeed. However, they will certainly NOT change as long as she and certain others are still officially residing here, for sure, if I'm not too mistaken here. Because I won't be forced out of my home by them, they must then leave, for all the obvious reasons here and now."

"And the others?"

"I love them all very much too, of course, but I won't be dating Motoko or Mitsune, at least, for quite some length of time, if ever, Shinobu. I can't trust them either, for many of the same reasons I can't trust Naru, if not all of them. Now, please let me go to the restroom, just as quickly as I can."

"Very well, Senpai. But you'll somehow owe me for this, perhaps, then," said Shinobu, as she moved so he could go to the bathroom elsewhere well enough.

"If so, so be it, Shinobu-chan," said Keitaro, as he then fled the room as quickly as he possibly could, of course.

After he was out of sight and earshot well enough, Naru said, "Maehara-san, you are a real jerk for treating him like your own little plaything since he came back yesterday."

"Oh, and you almost constantly using him as your frequent punching dummy and/or frequent insults-receiver isn't worse than me just flirting with him a little bit now is, Narusegawa-baka?"

"You were SUPPOSED to stay innocent around here, and not be so contaminated by him like you obviously were all this time! You were supposed to always be like a crystal of clear glass or of diamond, in fact!"

"Oh, REALLY? I was supposed to just eternally forget ALL the abuse that's often been directed at him by you, Motoko, Mitsune, and possibly even Kaolla, at least, after what I left when I first came here? You REALLY want to know just what has killed my innocence to at least some degree, if not totally, ever since I first came here? It was YOU bullies, cowards, and thieves, at least, that have contaminated me, if I HAVE indeed been contaminated ever since my coming here for the very first time to live here!"

Of course, their eventual loud yelling soon caused others to wake up as well, for the obvious reasons. And it soon caused Keitaro to come back very quickly, somewhat afraid that both Naru and Shinobu would come to resort to fighting physically with each other as well. But, somehow, Shinobu and Naru restrained themselves from doing that sufficiently well, although not without quite a lot of yelling between the two of them. While Keitaro managed to hold back Shinobu with some help from Nyamo, Hirotsugu, and Mutsumi, Naru's parents, Tsuruko, and Sarah did the same for Naru.

Hirotsugu helped hold Shinobu back partly with his singing of a potentially ancient song, and partly by moving silently to periodically block her when she least expected her to do just that. The song he sang was a song from perhaps no more recent than about 350 to 400 years before, if not even earlier than that. Not only that, but it also was a song that had been passed down, especially amongst those who were somehow part of or related closely enough to Shinobu's own family/Clan/sub-House, by the way, for generations upon generations. As soon as Shinobu realized this well enough, she quickly began to calm down quite considerably, for sure.

It took her a little while longer to calm down enough so that Keitaro could tell her to start making up breakfast for everyone well enough, but she still did so, somehow. Once she did so, Keitaro asked her as calmly as he could to do just that, even though she obviously didn't want to, of course. She said, "I don't really want to have to make breakfasts for them, Senpai," as the two of them went into her kitchen.

"I know. But I need to at least see that our guests are taken care of well enough before they leave, of course. Right?" asked Keitaro.

"I suppose so, Senpai."

"Naru IS leaving, as ARE Motoko and Mitsune, at least. I am willing to let them stay for a little while longer, at least, so that they may hopefully find other lodgings very soon, if at all possible, though. Besides, we still do not know how Kaolla's doing with her current test, either, do we?"

"No, I suppose not, Senpai."

"So will you please provide meals, at least, for as long as they're still here, then, Shinobu?"

"Are you still considering the miscreants as tenants, then, by any chance? Or as guests?"

"Tenants, until the evictions become sufficiently valid legally enough, Shinobu. I believe, under normal enough circumstances, a landlord/landlady here has to give their tenants at least one week to find other places to live well enough once the tenant or tenants in question have been notified well enough of their imminent eviction, you see."

"So we're most likely stuck with them until at least the 15th, then?"

"Yes, that appears to be the case here, Shinobu," said Keitaro as he soon began to help Shinobu start making breakfast for everyone now present.

"Fine, I will at least make meals for the miscreants until they leave, Senpai, at least as a personal favor to you, if not for any other reason or reasons besides that. But I WILL no longer knowingly do ANY more of their laundry while they're still here, if I don't ABSOLUTELY have to, for sure. And I don't really want to needlessly talk to or needlessly deal with them any more, either, if that's somehow true as well, for quite some length of time indeed. If ever again, for that matter, anyway," said Shinobu, several quite silent minutes later, as she made several dozen pancakes of various kinds in a very short period of time.

Grandma Hina soon entered, saying, "Kaolla passed her test, as expected. Cloak-san and her husband have returned as well, and are sharing some details about their organization with Naru, Motoko, Mitsune, and Kaolla somewhat peacefully indeed in the hot springs. Haruka, Seta, Tsuruko, and Hirotsugu are making quite sure that there are absolutely no problems while that is the case, for that matter. Everyone else who's not in the hot springs area is still in the living room, for sure." Grandma Hina soon began to help Shinobu and Keitaro make breakfast for everyone, even the miscreants.

Keitaro eventually said, "Fine, Shinobu, if Grandma Hina agrees that you don't have to do their laundry if you don't want to, then you won't have to do the evictees' laundry if you don't want to and can somehow avoid doing so well enough. But if she says you have to do their laundry, then I will expect you to do so as usual until they leave. Is that fair enough?"

Shinobu thought for a few moments in relative silence as she finished making all the needed pancakes here well enough. Then she eventually said, while putting them as needed, where needed, "I don't like it, Senpai, but I must admit it's fair enough here and now. I shall do, then, as Grandma Hina wishes me to do with their laundry, at least, as well, until they leave here."

"On your word of honor as a Maehara?" asked Grandma Hina.

"Yes, Grandma Hina-san, on my word of honor as a Maehara."

"Very well, then, Shinobu. It is my honest wish that you do so fully as usual until they leave, whenever that may then be," said Grandma Hina.

"As you wish, Grandma Hina. I will comply with your wishes, as I have just promised on my word of honor as a Maehara. I will try not to further possibly anger them for at least that long as well, for that matter. But I WILL no longer stand for them needlessly still doing what MOST of them have done much too often to Senpai without actually trying to stop it, if I can possibly ever avoid doing so well enough somehow."

"Understood, Shinobu," said Grandma Hina.

Eventually, everyone now on the grounds had their respective breakfasts as needed and/or desired. Once that was the case sufficiently well, a good number of them left the Apartments' grounds again, for various reasons. Especially the cops who'd spent the night on them, in fact. Those that remained soon congregated with each other again in the living room, where and when possible, once summoned well enough to that place.

First up was Naru, at least and she was finally asked to publicly announce her choice of sentence to everyone then assembled in the living room, quite obviously enough, here and now. She said, "My choice of sentence is choice three of the choices presented to me earlier, everyone. I say this with no attempts whatsoever at deception of any or all of you, for that matter. If any or all of you do not totally believe me now, I ask you all to let my future actions, et cetera, prove or disprove the words that I am currently sharing with you all here and now. If I must therefore leave Hinata here for at least ten years, if not forever, as a penalty for my earlier actions, then so be it. But I really hope that I'll eventually be able to return here at least once after I leave here, of course. This concludes my current statement about such things. At least for now, it does, anyway."

"Very well, then, Naru-san," said Keitaro. "In that case, you, your parents, Cloak-san, and Cloak-san's husband, along with myself, Haruka, and Grandma Hina, will all have to officially sign some things, for the obvious reasons. After you leave here officially, we will keep tabs on you for as long as needed. If, after a certain yet-unknown length of time, you have sufficiently enough redeemed yourself, we may seriously review our mutual decision to evict and ban you from these grounds for a time, if not forever," added Keitaro, with a completely straight face here and now. "The ban will begin the day after you finally leave here, and there will be a list of places you will definitely be quite banned from unless you are given temporary, if not permanent, relaxations of the applicable ban or banes, during their minimum terms of existence, for sure. If you willingly and knowingly violate those bans, certain MORE permanent measures WILL be carried out as needed, of course. I really hope you NEVER actually force us to do so, though, quite obviously enough, for all our sakes, at least."

"Understood, Keitaro-san," said Naru, about ten or so considerably quiet minutes later, for that matter. "When do you want us to sign those things, then, by the way?"

"Right after supper, if possible, Naru-san," said Keitaro.

"As you wish,then. I suppose I should now return to my room soon, and start packing it up, of course," said Naru.

"No, not just yet," said Haruka. "First, we have to take care of some other business before you can do that."

Motoko, and then Mitsune, were then made to announce their own choices related to their sentences. And just as Naru did, they chose the option related to Cloak-san's organization, for they all definitely didn't really want to potentially go to prison for a very long time, for instance. They, along with Naru, also realized that it wasn't very likely to be very pleasant at all for some length of time, even as they served STARSHIP. But they all felt that it might still prove to be the option that might best serve all sufficiently-concerned parties in the future. Whether near or distant, for that matter.

Once they were each attended to as needed, Naru, Motoko, and Mitsune then waited to see what Kaolla's eventual fate might soon be, of course. Kaolla soon chose to join Cloak-san's organization, especially after Cloak-san suggested that Kaolla be allowed to freely visit her current friends, at least, in the Hinata City local area every so often, as certain situations might somehow actually permit, in fact.

Keitaro considered the idea for a little while, at least, then eventually said, "That might be permissible, somehow. But will you be her primary room and board-provider, then, or will we?"

"We prefer all our people to be as close as they can be to each other, if and whenever possible. So we will take on that responsibility, with Molmol's permission, of course. We have plenty of things to keep her busy where she'd be staying, I'm quite sure. Among other things as well, for that matter. We also have quite a few sentient beings from all over the Universe in our organization. Some have been looking for a real intellectual challenge for a while in it, and perhaps she can provide such challenges for them, as well. Kaolla will surely not be very bored in our organization, if I'm not too mistaken, once she gets familiar enough with it later on, Keitaro-san," said Cloak-san, a little while later, over some tea and crackers.

Keitaro, Haruka, and Grandma Hina briefly withdrew to Shinobu's kitchen for a short time to converse in private with each other. When they eventually returned, Keitaro said, "Very well, then. Kaolla will primarily live with your other people wherever you wish her to live with them. Because she is still a child, to at least some degree, if not totally, we will therefore NOT be evicting her and banning her from any of our currently-held properties. At least not right here and right now, anyway. Furthermore, we are transferring her official place in the Apartments to her sister Amalla, seeing as Kaolla-chan will now willingly be leaving us to pursue various challenges with STARSHIP. Not only that, but we have also mutually decided to totally demolish this place, wherever necessary and appropriate, and to rebuild and/or renovate these entire grounds, so as to better accommodate long-overdue changes to them and for them, everyone."

"What about my kitchen, then, Senpai?"

"Your current kitchen is insufficient for what will be necessary later on, Shinobu-chan. As is the laundry room area, for that matter. These future changes will also affect Haruka's Tea Shop next door, by the way. Her Tea Shop will also be demolished and rebuilt as needed and as desired later, of course. While the process of demolishing and reconstruction is still going on, then, we who are staying here after the changes are completed will all be staying in a hotel of ours in Tokyo. You will help design and outfit the new kitchen and laundry areas for the grounds, and you will be made a full partner in Haruka's Tea Shop, as well."

"And my laboratory?" asked Kaolla.

"Relocated to STARSHIP's main headquarters, if at all possible, Kaolla-chan, most likely," said Grandma Hina.

"But you will need to quite obviously help us move it to a brand-new building now there, just the same, of course, Kaolla-san," said Cloak-san's husband. "Because we are not entirely familiar with everything in it, we most certainly will require your assistance in relocating your entire laboratory set-up to its new location, for sure."

"Once all potential dangerous materials have been sufficiently removed from these grounds, then we can begin preparing the necessary buildings for imminent demolition. The sooner we finish doing that, the sooner we can begin the process of reconstructing the the Apartments' needed buildings on these grounds, of course," said Haruka.

"How big should this new Apartments' building then be, perhaps?" asked Mutsumi.

"Big enough for rooms where at least 50 people, if not more, will be able to sleep when they're present on the grounds. Furthermore, this place WILL lodge not just females on it, but males as well, for various reasons. This particular point is NOT, repeat NOT, negotiable, everyone. There WILL be several males living here on these grounds in the future. Of course, there will obviously have to be some rules adopted here because of that fact, if they haven't already been, by the time this place is totally rebuilt, as you should already know, I believe," said Keitaro. "Anyone who really doesn't like the fact that males besides me will be living here can either just accept it or leave. If the latter, then they know where the doors and gates are to these grounds and/or its various buildings by now, most likely, and they can use them then. I most certainly am NOT going to force anyone to stay here against their will, if I don't absolutely have to, for sure. But I will NOT stand any longer for insolence and a LOT of other things needlessly just because certain people don't like HOW I run this place, or have in the past, or might in the future, for that matter."

Grandma Hina added, "We are doing this partly because of all the damage, et cetera, done to these grounds by certain nameless individuals, and partly because we now have new plans for our place here. We were already in considerable danger of having these entire grounds condemned due to the fact that this building here, at least, was very old and getting very hard to keep up well enough before Keitaro first got here to be its resident landlord and manager. Keitaro has maintained the grounds much better than expected. Even with all the periodical damage done to it whenever certain people quite often acted quite dishonorably and/or quite cowardly, et cetera. But no matter how well he's so far been able to somehow actually keep up these grounds, this entire place needs to be torn down and considerably rebuilt for the future. Even while retaining as much of its known prior history as possible, in fact, for that matter. This place WILL be condemned by the end of this calendar year, and human occupancy potentially banned for a time, if not permanently, if we do not make the necessary changes here by then to the best of our ability to do just that, by the way, everyone. We CAN'T allow that to happen, so these changes WILL be made just as quickly and just as best as they possibly can be, without any doubt whatsoever at all."

Eventually, Keitaro, Haruka, and Grandma Hina released Naru, Motoko, and Mitsune, at least, well enough from the current group meeting. After which, of course, those people and certain others then all set off for certain other rooms elsewhere in the building, for all the obvious reasons here and now. No matter who they were, or where they went, for that matter.

Once they were all gone well enough, for sure, Shinobu asked, "Cloak-san, do you think that your new recruits will eventually do quite well in your organization, or not?"

"I have no idea yet. At least not that I'm yet willing to share, anyway. I WILL, however, say that I very fervently indeed hope they all REALLY will. And that you all somehow CAN come to be very good friends, at least, with each other again, someday in all your mortal lives. But whether that ever will happen, I either can't, or won't, say. At least not at this time, if ever, anyway, Maehara-san," said Cloak-san, with a somehow-apparent tone of wondering present in her voice as she then spoke here and now.

* * *

><p>Eventually, the group meeting finally broke up well enough, and Shinobu was finally able to start preparing supper for everyone then on the grounds well enough. Grandma Hina and Mutsumi eventually joined her in her kitchen as well, where they all soon talked while helping each other prepare supper for everyone. Supper was totally prepared as needed by 6:30 in the evening, and placed where needed by 6:45, at the very latest.<p>

When it all was, Mutsumi then asked, "By when do you want everyone here for supper, then, Shinobu-chan?"

"At the top of the next hour, if at all possible, at the latest. If they are not here by 7:15, though, without a good enough reason, they will risk losing their chance to have it here with others well enough. Understood, Mutsumi-senpai?"

"Understood, Shinobu-chan." Mutsumi soon departed, leaving Grandma Hina and Shinobu briefly alone again in Shinobu's kitchen. Even as Shinobu suddenly got a look on her face that was perhaps wistful tinged with at least a little bit of sadness, somehow.

"What's the matter, Shinobu-chan?" asked Grandma Hina, once she noticed that look well enough at the current time.

"I said and did some really nasty things to at least a few of the other tenants here, Grandma Hina. Things I wouldn't normally say or do in my life, in fact. I am not usually this forceful or this outspoken in my life, for sure. It's like I became just like Senpai's abusers for a time myself, and may remain so for some considerable length of time. Meaning for at least a little while, if not a long while. I really don't want to be exactly like any or all of them here in my life, no matter if I am 14 or 21 or whatever in it."

"Because you really care for me very much, Shinobu-chan?" asked Keitaro, from a nearby doorway.

"Yes, of course, Senpai," said Shinobu, once she realized who'd just spoken. Even while she'd been putting away her now-clean favorite cooking aprons, and while taking off the one she'd just used, as needed and where needed, in fact. "How much of our conversation here did you just hear, by the way, anyway?"

"Just your most recent words here and now to Grandma, Shinobu. I didn't actually hear her question to you, though, by the way. So just how old are you, really, anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"

"As far as I know for sure, I'm still just 14 years old at the moment. Yet, several dozen, at least, of my more recent dreams somehow seem to greatly suggest I might possibly now be much closer to your current age, if not older than you, actually. Honestly, though, I don't really know right now just how old I actually am, my dear Senpai."

Shinobu, Keitaro, and Grandma Hina soon went to supper with each other, and they all arrived in the main dining room area just before everyone else did. It took a little while for everyone to get their necessary food and drink items, of course, but they all eventually did so, just the same.

Supper was eventually filled with at least some conversation between everyone now partaking in it, for the obvious reasons. Although several people still essentially ignored Naru, Motoko, and Mitsune just as much as they then could, by the way, if they couldn't do so totally.

Supper finally ended well enough by 8:30 in the late evening. And cleaning up after it took about half an hour after that to complete well enough, more or less. Once that unquestionably proved to be the case well enough, Keitaro and various others soon got right down to some now-required and potentially unpleasant business for all of the necessary people, in fact.

All necessary and such business took just about an hour, more or less, to then conclude as needed and as appropriate. Once it all was, everyone was generally free to do and/or go as they each wished, within reason, of course. Most, though, soon went to bed or sleep in various places, considering the current lateness of the relevant nighttime hour. Including most, if not all, of the females now on the grounds, for that matter.

Seta and Keitaro soon met in the living room and got to talking with each other about the future. Among the people and/or things that they soon got to talking about was Seta's quite frequent companion whenever Seta was teaching archeology classes at Tokyo U, one Sarah McDougal. Seta quickly noted that Sarah wasn't planned as an official future resident for the Apartments at the current time. To which, Keitaro said, "No, not currently, at least, Seta-san. But that doesn't mean that she won't eventually be one, someday, of course. Just not at this time, anyway."

"And what if she has to sometimes stay here when I, at least, have to work on a dig, then?"

"We'll deal with such instances on a case-by-case basis, if and whenever possible, appropriate, and necessary, of course. Just as we always have, I'm quite sure."

Eventually, Seta left the Apartments behind for the night with Sarah actually in tow. Once they were both gone, Shinobu soon returned to the living room from the kitchen, having come down to it for a little bit of a bedtime snack just mere minutes before Sarah and Seta's mutual departure. When she then did so, she also brought some milk and cookies there with her, and sat somewhat near him, but not immediately next to him on the living room's main couch. Most specifically, she sat on one end of it while he was still sitting on the other.

Keitaro soon studied the resident chef par excellence at some length. And he quickly saw that she then was wearing her favorite pink and light green hooded sweatshirt over a pair of light pink and deep purple flannel pajama bottoms and a multi-colored pair of bear-decorated slippers.

Shinobu soon asked, "Senpai, may I talk to you for a while, please?"

Keitaro then thought for about a minute or so in relative silence before he suddenly nodded almost imperceptibly towards her. "That's fine with me, Shinobu-chan."

Shinobu relaxed a bit when he said that as she also dipped one of her raisin and butterscotch-chipped cookies into a tall glass of goat's milk mixed with touches of various spices, including cinnamon. After taking a bite from that cookie and briefly sipping from her milk glass, she then asked, "Senpai, do you hate me now for what went on earlier between me and those who will now be leaving us very soon, most likely?"

"Seriously, Shinobu?" When she nodded, Keitaro said, as he semi-casually put his right hand behind his head and faced her better on the couch, "No, of course I don't, Shinobu-chan. Do I really wish you wouldn't have fought with them just like you just did a few days ago? Most certainly I do. However, I do also still realize, somehow, that it really must have been increasingly difficult for you to watch me be mistreated like I was quite often indeed. Even you or me would have most likely said and done what you might just have to my abusers, I think, at least once apiece in our life or lives, if not more than once. Supposing we were provoked sufficiently well enough in it or them, quite obviously enough."

"But?" asked Shinobu, thinking he wanted to elaborate more here on his current point.

"You can't make this sort of thing a quite frequent event when the new people start living here, Shinobu-chan. Otherwise, I will unfortunately have to evict you as well, for all the obvious reasons, of course."

"Certainly not, Senpai. But I will NOT just let anyone else ever walk all over me or all over you again any more than I ABSOLUTELY have to in the future. Whether near or distant, for sure. For I really DO care for you very much, no matter what my true chronological age may or may not be, I must actually say here and now."

"And if it turns out that you undeniably are actually somehow older than me?" asked Keitaro, as he finished a cookie.

"Then so much the better, because you wouldn't have actually been possibly molesting a minor, as Narusegawa and Aoyama, at least, often have claimed about you in the past. If I've actually been an adult all this time, then they would certainly have been even more wrong for punishing you just like they often used to do, you know."

"But what about all the times you ran away when I used to land on you, or whatever, no matter what your true age is, Shinobu?"

"I unfortunately get embarrassed quite easily, quite often, Senpai. I truly mean not to do that, but for some yet-unknown reason or reasons, I've never totally been able to control myself in certain potentially embarrassing situations, somehow. Whether it's times when you've unintentionally seen me totally naked, for instance, or whenever you catch Kaolla and me hanging upside down from a tree in Kaolla's room, perhaps."

"Listen, Shinobu. You may not necessarily be as big-bosomed or as sophisticated or as strong as several of the other girls around here, for certain. Either now or later, come to think of it. But you are still not without special characteristics of your very own that the others don't yet have, if they ever will."

"Such as?" asked Shinobu, while finishing a cookie.

"You have the sweetest heart of anyone I've ever known in my entire life. You are also a chef par excellence, for I've never tasted such cooking anywhere else in the world as I have of yours. If there was such a thing as a ten-star restaurant, I think you'd be one of the few, if not the only one, who could own and/or operate such a restaurant or such restaurants anywhere in the world. I could perhaps say numerous other things I really like about you, come to think of it, Shinobu."

"And if I always remain small of body, at least, then what?"

"Then so be it, Shinobu. Whether you're small of body or not, at any time in the future, is really not that important to me, in truth. What truly matters to me is your heart, not your body. I, for instance, am never going to look like Chuck Norris, without a doubt. But so what? Sure, I want to look good often, I'm quite certain. But I'm not so concerned about my looks as some people might be. For looks normally DO fade, you know, as most people age in their lives," said Keitaro, as he also watched her twirl a bit of her hair around a finger somewhat nervously indeed.

"But many people seem to think that to be bigger in certain bodily areas is much better for people than to be smaller in them, Senpai," said Shinobu, as she then sipped some of her milk here and now.

"If it's not better for someone to be bigger in certain bodily areas, then those who believe it is are potentially quite mistaken, Shinobu. Honestly, I don't really care all that much whether you're just 14 or you're older than that. What I do care about, however, is that you are able to be the kind of woman in this world that I know you can perhaps be and you should be, for just as long as you are still alive in it. And I do want to see you in the future, if at all possible, once eternity eventually begins, for that matter."

"You believe there's possibly something more to existence than just this life, Senpai?" asked Shinobu as she finished the rest of her milk.

"I don't really know if there is for sure. But at least a few, if not a lot, of the people I've periodically worked with before on various digs seem to think that there is possibly much more to it. And maybe much more than what we humans may currently know of or be sufficiently enough aware or, Shinobu," said Keitaro, even as he then finished the rest of his milk and cookies.

"So do you think they might possibly be right or not, Senpai?" she asked, even while finishing off her last cookie and collecting both their glasses for an imminent return to her kitchen with them.

"I don't have enough information yet about such beliefs of theirs to say yes or no to that question well enough for sure, Shinobu. But I still wonder sometimes, at least, if they might somehow be right to at least some degree, if not to a great degree, just the same. Anyway, do you have anything more you want to discuss with me before we both retire to our respective rooms for the rest of the night here?" asked Keitaro, as Shinobu began to rise from the couch again here and now.

She thought for a few somewhat brief moments, at most, before then asking, "If things go sufficiently according to plan, Senpai, when do you think we'll possibly be able to come back here for a long enough time, then?"

"Depending on how big the plans for this place prove to be and how many workers are available to work on it well enough, I'd say that we could finish working on these grounds anywhere between late July and early September, Shinobu. Among the things that we'll also need to add to these grounds is a training area with accompanying buildings a quite considerable distance from the main Apartments' building, for instance."

"For who? And what?"

"For those who want to practice various martial arts styles, and for the teaching of those styles to those who might be interested in them."

"What else, Senpai?" she asked from the nearest kitchen doorway.

"You'll just have to wait and see, Shinobu-chan. Hopefully you'll be quite pleased when and if you're able to see what we're planning to do all over these grounds well enough. But for now, at least, I suggest that we each retire to our own rooms very quickly indeed before we fall asleep outside of them too easily, for sure."

"Understood, Senpai. Very well, then. I'll see you in the morning, I hope, of course." Then Shinobu ducked into the kitchen briefly, whereupon Keitaro didn't see her again for the rest of the night. For she'd return to her room a different way than he'd return to his, using totally different routes to them both.

Both went almost immediately to their rooms, then, and both were quite soundly asleep no more than two minutes after their precious heads hit their respective pillows well enough. And so they would generally both still remain until dawn, at least, if not even later than that, in fact, on the following morning.

* * *

><p>Well, that's the second chapter of this story. Work has already begun on Chapter Three of it. I don't want to spoil it too much, if I can possibly avoid it, but I will still say that I expect it to be a good one, of course, when I finish writing it well enough. I expect to make this story at least a dozen, if not more, chapters in length, so it could be a while before this story is sufficiently complete. It may periodically intertwine with any number of my other stories, for that matter, just so you all know this well enough. But that is yet to be decided, for sure, people. And if it does, just how much and how often it does so, for that matter.<p>

I hope you all really enjoyed this chapter, and I really hope that you'll all seriously consider leaving some quite clean, quite courteous, and quite constructive reviews and/or private messages regarding it or any chapter, whether currently-posted or not, every so often in the future, of course. But for now, I have some things to do now, including, quite obviously enough, working on Chapter Three of this particular story. The chapter is tentatively subtitled, though, as "Vacating the Grounds," by the way, everyone. TUS out.


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